{"title":"Wage Risk and the Skill Premium","authors":"Ctirad Slav́ık, Hakkı Yazıcı","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3084339","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3084339","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The skill premium has increased significantly in the United States in the last five decades. During the same period, individual wage risk has also increased. This paper proposes a mechanism through which a rise in wage risk increases the skill premium. Intuitively, a rise in uninsured wage risk increases precautionary savings, thereby boosting capital accumulation, which increases the skill premium due to capital-skill complementarity. Using a quantitative macroeconomic model, we find that the rise in wage risk observed between 1967 and 2010 increases the skill premium significantly. This finding is robust across a variety of model specifications.","PeriodicalId":196465,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution (Topic)","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123282120","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dealing with Space and Place in Standard Survey Data","authors":"Steffen Hillmert, Andreas Hartung, K. Wessling","doi":"10.15496/PUBLIKATION-30503","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15496/PUBLIKATION-30503","url":null,"abstract":"Heterogeneity of local conditions and spatial dependencies are typical aspects of sociological phenomena. However, large-scale empirical data is often rather limited with regard to the spatial references that are (publicly) available to researchers. We describe several aspects of the problem and assess possibilities and potential errors associated with limited information. Our examples are returns to education and gender-based and migration-related wage gaps as popular research topics. We base our analyses upon widely used survey data from Germany, the GSOEP, which contains geographical information on various levels of aggregation. Our particular interest is in the decisions that have to be made with regard to problems of space and place in standard surveys, available options and consequences. We conclude with a number of practical suggestions for data users.","PeriodicalId":196465,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution (Topic)","volume":"360 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131405353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Countercyclical Endogenous Uncertainty Shocks, Efficiency Wages and Procyclical Precautionary Labor Productivity","authors":"Jean-Michel Grandmont","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3057917","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3057917","url":null,"abstract":"This work introduces a new mechanism generating procyclical comovements of labor productivity, employment, through endogenous variations of workers' effort, in a simple model with efficiency wages, near a locally indeterminate steady state. A current endogenous countercyclical uncertainty shock makes risk averse workers more willing to provide imperfectly monitored \"precautionary effort\" by increasing their expected utility gain of not shirking. If workers' relative prudence is small and decreasing fast near the steady state, frms' efficiency wage contracts generate significant endogenous procyclical variations of effort, employment and labor productivity, in particular when the capital-efficient labor elasticity of substitution is smaller than and close to 1.","PeriodicalId":196465,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution (Topic)","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128424165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Politics of Widening Income Inequality in the United States, 1977 to 2014","authors":"R. Shapiro","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3084843","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3084843","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines the impact of partisanship on growing inequality in the United States from 1977 to 2014. Drawing on Piketty and Zucman’s data on the rising share of income flowing to the top one percent and falling share of income flowing to the bottom 50 percent, we tested the impact of Republican or Democratic control of the presidency and/or Congress on the path of that redistribution. There was no statistically significant association between party control of either branch of government and the path of redistribution of national income on a pre-tax basis, suggesting that economic factors drove pre-tax redistribution. However, there were strong associations between party control and the path of redistribution of post-tax income. When Republicans held the presidency, controlled Congress, the rising share of post-tax income going to the top one percent accelerated, and the falling share going to bottom 50 percent also accelerated. The result was the opposite when Democrats held the presidency, controlled Congress, or both: The increase in the top one percent’s rising share of post-tax national slowed, as did the decline in the bottom 50 percent’s share of post-tax national income.","PeriodicalId":196465,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution (Topic)","volume":"119 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116386285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Effect of Labor Relations Laws on Unionization Rates within the Labor Force: Evidence from the Canadian Provinces","authors":"Scott Legree, Tammy Schirle, M. Skuterud","doi":"10.1111/irel.12187","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/irel.12187","url":null,"abstract":"We examine the potential of labor‐relations reforms to address wage inequality by relating an index of the favorableness to unions of Canadian provincial labor‐relations laws to changes in industry, occupation, education, and gender‐specific provincial unionization rates. While we find some evidence of larger unionization gains among high‐school–educated workers, the differences across groups are small and in some cases suggest larger gains among professionals. Overall, the results suggest a limited potential for reforms in labor‐relations laws to mitigate growing labor‐market inequality.","PeriodicalId":196465,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution (Topic)","volume":"66 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127255741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Switch Points and Normal Forms for Bifurcations","authors":"R. Vienneau","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3011850","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3011850","url":null,"abstract":"The choice of technique can be analyzed, in a circulating-capital model of prices of production, by constructing the wage frontier. Switch points arise when more than one technique is cost-minimizing for a specified rate of profits. This article defines four normal forms for structural bifurcations, in which the number and sequence of switch points varies with a variation in one model parameter, such as a coefficient of production. The ’perversity’ of switch points that appear on and disappear from the wage frontier is analyzed. The conjecture is made that no other normal forms exist of co-dimension one.","PeriodicalId":196465,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution (Topic)","volume":"7 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114367642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Marriage Premium and Class","authors":"Roberto Bonilla, Francis Kiraly, J. Wildman","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3005907","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3005907","url":null,"abstract":"We present an equilibrium model with inter-linked labour and marriage markets, and argue that search frictions play an important role in explaining the male marriage premium. If men are viewed as bread-winners within households, this expectation a¤ects their job search behaviour, which in turn can lead to marital wage gaps ranked across productivities. Male heterogeneity is neither necessary nor sufficient for this premium. Nonetheless, when coupled with female heterogeneity in the marriage market, male reservation wages linked to productivities do affect the resulting assortative matching structure, and equilibrium marriage classes exhibit their own patterns of marital wage differentials. Using UK data on wages, male/female heterogeneity and marital classes, we also carry out the first empirical test of the role of search frictions in generating the male marriage premium.","PeriodicalId":196465,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution (Topic)","volume":"56 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133141154","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Multi Fibre Arrangement and Wage Inequality: Firm and State‐Level Evidence from India and a Theoretical Model","authors":"Mausumi Kar, S. Kar","doi":"10.1111/twec.12437","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/twec.12437","url":null,"abstract":"The phased elimination of Multi Fibre Arrangements (MFA) for textile and apparel has been one of the most compelling trade policy reforms that removed a system of bilateral quotas. The reform brought in significant changes in the industrial structures for exporters from the south, including India. Has the labour-intensive high-employment textile and clothing industry in India benefited from this global move towards freer trade? For India, the industry has witnessed unprecedented market concentration of export-oriented firms. Firm-level empirical estimate illustrates that workers in the export-oriented firms in India are adversely affected due to withdrawal of quota. Accumulation of net fixed assets and growth of sales impart positive impact on firm-level wages that cannot outweigh negative impact due to fall in exports. We also find negative impact of profit on aggregate wage bill for the industry with firms spread over 11 major states in India. We show that the mean deviation of industry-level wage is positively and significantly associated with mean deviation of the number of factories at the state level and negatively with profit. Finally, a brief analytical exercise obtains conditions under which joint withdrawal of quota and import tariff could raise the aggregate labour income in developing countries, in general.","PeriodicalId":196465,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution (Topic)","volume":"33 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114163071","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Touring the Modern Economy Through the Generations","authors":"K. Gomez","doi":"10.2139/ssrn.3003883","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3003883","url":null,"abstract":"In a time of comprehensive labor market disruption, no one needs to be reminded that jobs and their respective incomes are always changing in the modern economy. In this tour, we dive into how the occupations of yesterday have changed with each generation. By exploring this transformation, we may be able to uncover trends that will better prepare us for the unpredictable labor force of tomorrow. Each section, noted by a larger font, the name of the generation in question, and a Roman numeral, will take on a different generation and investigate some of the key features of its respective economy. The fourth section is dedicated entirely to the Great Recession as it is the latest paradigm shifter in the modern economy and the reason for much of the millennial generation’s perceived outlook on the economy. Additionally, each section can be read as a standalone piece, though the transitions through the paper attempt to be quite natural. This paper includes rigorous research on the key aspects of the time periods but is written in an easy-read format, approachable, and digestible for non-academics.","PeriodicalId":196465,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution (Topic)","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126421126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Maternal Socio-Economic Status and the Well-Being of the Next Generation(s)","authors":"Kasey Buckles","doi":"10.1093/OXFORDHB/9780190628963.013.32","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/OXFORDHB/9780190628963.013.32","url":null,"abstract":"A rich literature in economics and the social sciences has shown that improvements in women's socio-economic status (SES) can also improve the well-being of their children. This chapter identifies several channels for this effect, drawing on both theoretical and empirical work in economics. Empirical evidence on the effects of maternal SES on child outcomes like health, education, and labor market success is presented, with a focus on recent work using new data sets and methodological innovations that allow for credible identification. The chapter also discusses emerging evidence that shocks to maternal well-being can affect not only a woman's own children, but future generations as well. Finally, the chapter highlights several fertile areas for future work.","PeriodicalId":196465,"journal":{"name":"ERN: Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution (Topic)","volume":"41 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121325019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}